Since last week there has been a double strike in Hollywood: authors and actors are fighting for better contracts. But the controversial use of artificial intelligence is also causing problems for various industries in Hollywood.
Hollywood in a state of emergency: Screenwriters and actors are on strike together outside the gates of the big studios. It is mainly about two aspects: better pay and the use of artificial intelligence.
The issue of money is particularly important for non-celebrity actors, says Mateo Sarria. He’s one of tens of thousands of supporting actors who are unionized. “Few actors make a living from their jobs. It’s difficult to succeed in this industry,” explains Sarria.
There is no income from streaming platforms
It’s all about the so-called residuals, you could translate them as bonuses, i.e. variable remuneration or participations. They are paid to writers and cast members when TV series or movies are shown as reruns. Because filmmakers don’t always work, and sometimes don’t get any new orders for months, this is important income.
However, the regulation does not apply to streaming platforms such as Netflix, Apple TV+ or Amazon. “The tech companies don’t have to publish how often their content is viewed,” says Sarria. Actors like him want to be better financially involved in successful series and films and that the streamers publish what content is viewed and how.
Use of artificial intelligence controversial
The second big point about the strikes: the use of artificial intelligence. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland of the Sag Aftra union said: “Background performers shall have their bodies scanned, be paid for a day’s work and the studios shall have the rights to their looks for eternity.”
Crabtree-Ireland and Sag Aftra President Fran Drescher fear that in the future the studios will animate people for scenes in the background cheaply without paying real actors who are entitled to overtime through the union, for example. This “saves them a lot of money, but we can hardly survive”.
Various industries affected
Not only actors are worried about artificial intelligence – also voice actors. “There’s no single law right now that protects your voice,” says Linsay Rousseau, who lends her voice to characters in commercials and video games. Audio in particular can be easily collected and cloned – there are already problems because speakers’ voices appear in porn or say racist things.
“This worries us and is damaging our business.” She and her colleague Tim Friedlander emphasize: It’s not about rejecting artificial intelligence, but “we want to be able to control what happens to our data”.. At least the Hollywood strike is one of the biggest labor disputes, which also involves the use of artificial intelligence.
Actor Sarria wishes the government would step in and regulate the use of AI. It all reminds him a lot of the plot of an action film à la Terminator: “It has become one of the front lines in the fight against the robots.”